intonate

[in-toh-neyt, -tuh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR intonate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), in·to·nat·ed, in·to·nat·ing.

to utter with a particular tone or modulation of voice.

to intone; chant.

Origin of intonate

1785–95; < Medieval Latin intonātus, past participle of intonāre to intone. See -ate¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for intonate

vent, deliver, articulate, tell, assert, say, emphasize, utter, announce, proclaim, declare, present, speak, sound, cry, divulge, vocalize, pronounce, enunciate, air

British Dictionary definitions for intonate

intonate

verb (tr)

to pronounce or articulate (continuous connected speech) with a characteristic rise and fall of the voice

a less common word for intone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for intonate

1795, from Medieval Latin intonatus, past participle of intonare (see intone) + -ate (2). Cf. Italian intonare, French entonner. Related: Intonated; intonating.